To Love a Shadow
by Neo Dragon X
Summary: When a young electricity dragon named Vortex is found at the steps of the Dragon Temple after a massive thunderstorm, he is rescued by the Guardians. When he awakens, he meets-and falls for a young shadow dragoness named Cynder. However, when a dark dragon attacks the city and Cynder is kidnapped, Will Vortex save her? Will she return his feelings? Eventual Cynder x OC Spyro x OC
1. Chapter 1

To Love A Shadow: Prologue

Thunder cracked as rain drizzled from the black clouds lining the sky. Lighting flashed, briefly illuminating a small forested area. Suddenly, a glimmering indigo shape shot past, followed by three dark shapes. The indigo one was a young electric dragon, despertely shooting from place to place as he avoided tree branches and fallen logs with ease.

The three shapes pursuiting him were three, huge, crimson eyed Dreadwings. They had been foraging in the forest for something to eat when the indigo dragon had passed by, nervously looking left and right for any signs of danger. Not ones to let a easy meal pass by, the three Dreadwings had given chase instantly. Unfortunatly for them, the young dragon has sensed them, and had shot off like a bolt of lighting, hence his element.

Now, in the middle of the massive thunderstorm, the three Dreadwings were gaining on the electricity dragon, as he was tired out from the long chase. He flared his wings and quickly swerved, his tail cracking behind him. His tail blade sliced one of the Dreadwings from shoulder to hip, and with a crackling death cry, the monstrous shadow fell to the ground and lay still, blood collecting on the ground from its massive wound.

The other two Dreadwings took one look at their fallen comrade and gave wails of outrage. They then turned to glare at the electric dragon, who had turned and shot off again. The Dreadwings then gave chase again. The dragon, whose name was Vortex, had by now been througly exhausted. He had given most of his power on his speed boosts, and was promptly drained.

The two Dreadwings, barely drained, continued the unrelenting pursuit. Their monstrous wings cracked out, their massive fangs dripping with saliva. Vortex squinted, seeing a flash on the horizon. When he came a little closer, he saw that it was a massive temple. "_Oh thank the Ancestors! My salvation!" _he thought as he shot into the air and flew towards the temple.

The Dreadwings, seeing their prey trying to escape, flew after him in bursts of speed. Vortex turned his head to face them and gasped. They were nearly on him! "_Must get there before they rip me apart!" _he thought despertely, before a sudden peal of blood red sound smashed into him.

"Argh!" he cried out in pain as the sound wave bludgeoned him with the force of a boulder, sending him careening into the ground. He slowly got up, pain traveling in waves down his left wing and shoulder, where the wave had struck. The two Dreadwings, seeing their prey downed, gave growls of excitement before swooping down after him.

Suddenly, the clouds above them boomed and a massive bolt of lighting arched down, striking the staggering Vortex. The electricity dragon cried out in pain as he stood rigid, the ridiculous amount of power the bolt contained now flowing through his body. His head snapped forward to glare at the incoming Dreadwings, and a deep growl rumbled out of his throat as his golden eyes flared with electrical power.

"_**I AM THE THUNDER GOD!**_" He roared as he detonated his body in a earthsplitting explosion of electrical prowess. The two Dreadwings were engulfed in the massive vortex and were instantly vaporized into piles of ash. After the explosion cleared, Vortex, his body now covered in burns, staggered and looked at the remains of his enemies, before he collapsed to the ground.

The electricity dragon's eyes slowly closed. The last thing he saw, though, was a pair of beautiful emerald orbs staring into his own, the last thing he heard was the a beautiful voice shouting to another "Get the Guardians! Now!". The last thing he felt was... Love...


	2. Awakening and Love

** Chapter 2: Awakening and... Love**

Vortex let out a pained groan as he opened his eyes, warily staring out into the depths of a small room. He was lying on a bed, covered by a leather sheet. He shook his head, dazed. The last he remembered was seeing that beautiful pair of emerald eyes after defeating the Dreadwings.

He groggily stretched, then winced as sudden pain flared in his left shoulder and wing. He looked down and saw that they were wrapped in banadages, along with part of his tail and chest. He then looked up and investigated the room he was in. There was a small bookshelf filled with scrolls, a small box filled with quills and a ink stopper nearby.

A small lamp was on a shelf next to his bed, and he switched it on, bathing the dark room in bright light. Vortex gave a toothy grin. These weren't much, but the electric dragon loved writing poems and stories, and so it was perfect for him. His thoughts then drifted back to the voice and eyes that he had seen before falling uncouscious.

Judging by the glimmer within the iris, and the voice's feminine tone, he could tell that they belonged to a dragoness. He did not know whom, but he hoped that he could meet their owner very soon. He then gingerly got out of the bed, carefully placing the sheets back around the bed, and left the room, closing the door silently behind him.

He then found himself in a vast hallway leading up to a massive door at the end. He could tell that this was the sparring hall. He then limped to the door and was about to fling it open, when a deep voice boomed "Ah, good to see that your awake youngling." Vortex turned around to face a massive green dragon of the Earth element, by the weathered, aged look of his scales.

He had two massive, curled horns sitting atop his head, like a ram's. His long whip like tail ended in a massive mace decorated with markings. His glaring ruby eyes glinted with a rock-like hardness, yet had a soft touch to them as well. "Te...Terrador! It is a honor to meet you! My name is Vortex..." Vortex stuttered in shock. He had only heard stories about the massive Earth Guardian, but he had never seen him up close! He bowed in respect.

Terrador let out a slight chuckle. "Well, it seems someone has heard about me. Get up, there is not need to bow. Cynder found you half uncouscious at our doorstep a few hours ago. You had completely vaporized those Dreadwings, but had suffered intense burns and wounds as a payment. We've treated them, but be sure to exert too much effort, or else you'll be having worse injuries." Vortex nodded, gnawing on the new information.

But Cynder... that name sounded beautiful to his ears. "Cynder? Who is she?" Vortex questioned. "She is a young shadow dragoness, who along with the purple dragon of legend, Spyro, saved Avalar from the Dark Master Malefor's attempt to destroy it. She was the one who found you on our doorstep, and she was the one who treated your wounds."

"May I meet her?" Vortex asked. Terrador was about to respond when a imposing, loud voice cut through the air. "Terrador, I've came, but why do you want me here?" Vortex turned and... saw her...

She was a shadow dragoness, like Terrador mentioned, but had a triangle emblazoned on her forehead. She had a sleek, lithe body, built for speed. Five ivory horns sprouted from her head at a neat, straight angle, and her pink underbelly and iron tipped wings gleamed. Her iron tail blade, glinting evily in the light, whipped throug the air as she cocked her head and stared at Vortex in confusion with those... beautiful... emerald orbs...

"Terrador, who is he?" She questioned. The Earth Guardian chuckled. "Cynder, this is Vortex. He is the dragon you discovered yesterday." Cynder's confused expression morphed into a excited one, and she smiled. "Hello, you were in a state of shock yesterday, that was for sure. How did you survive using all of that electricity?" She asked in wonder.

Vortex's cheeks turned bright red as he lowered his eyes to the ground. "Well... I... Argh!" He then ran back up the hallway to his room, went in, and slammed the door. Cynder looked after him with a surprised look, and turned back to Terrador. He shrugged, as if to say "I don't know either."

The electricity dragon threw himself onto his bed and rested his head on his pillow. "_Why am I feeling this way?_" He thought to himself, before a sudden reliasation hit him. "_Could I be in... love?"_


	3. Who Needs Training?

**Chapter 3: Training**

Vortex was shaken roughly out of bed by a purple dragon, the legend who stopped the evil Malefor alongside the opaque dragoness he had ended up falling for. He groaned as he rubbed his eyes with his left paw, before turning and glaring at Spyro. "What in the Ancestor's name was that for?" he grumbled angrily.

"To wake you up! Its training time! The guardians have been calling us for the past twenty minutes! Now get up!" Spyro replied in short bursts as he rushed out of the room. Vortex grumbled angrily about purple dragons and training as he stood up, massaging his aching muscles as he stretched like a cat.

Spyro then pointed to the nearby set of double doors which led to the training hall. Vortex nodded as he followed the purple dragon to it. Spyro threw open the doors to reveal Terrador standing in the doorway, his massive bulk taking up most of the frame. He gave a toothy grin when he saw the two dragons standing there. "Spyro, I see that you have woken our new arrival?" The Earth Guardian asked. Spyro nodded. "I woke up like you asked Terrador. Let's start on the training!"

With that, Spyro sped off. Terrador shook his head, but he was smiling. "That Spyro, always leaping off to do things his own way. Now, Vortex, the matter about your training..." Vortex nodded, his scales crackling with electricity as he took a fighting stance. "I want to bust some heads! Where are they?" He yelled as he shadowboxed the air with his paws.

Terrador cocked his head and stared at the electricity dragon in geniune surprise. "We need to actually show you how to engage in claw to claw fighting first beforehand. The skill you have with your element is one of the strongest I have ever seen. That lighting blast was so powerful that it caused all the power in the city to run out! Impressive..." With that, Terrador turned and motioned to Vortex to follow him.

The Indigo dragon followed, their pawsteps echoing throughout the silent room. When they got to the end, Terrador pulled on a lever in the ground, causing a panel to open from the ground. A ape shaped training dummy, holding a large silver sword in its right hand, along with a bronze shield in the other, was pulled up with chains. "Vortex, your goal is to defeat this ape. It won't be too difficult, just be sure to avoid its blade." Terrador instructed.

Vortex nodded as he took a fighting stance. The dummy then roared as it charged at him. Vortex flared his wings and charged too. But just as they were about to collide, the electricity dragon took a running leap and jumped into the air, behind the dummy. His tail then wrapped around the dummy's neck before he wrenched it to the side, spinning it away.

The dummy bellowed as it stopped itself, before lunging, its blade extended. Vortex felt the metal slice into his neck, carving a groove of flesh out. Snarling in pain and anger, Vortex activated his element and roared as lighting thundered around him. He lowered his head, his gold eyes shining with godlike power, and roared:

"**THUNDER HAMMER!"**

A giant hammer made of electricity appeared in Vortex's paws, and he swung it in a powerful swing. The head smashed into the ape, ripping it apart in a blitz of electrical power. The hammer vanished from Vortex's paws as his element faded, and he touched the ground. He turned and grinned at Terrador, who was gaping at the remains of the ape, strewen across the floor from the impact force.

"Who says I need training?"


	4. Vortex's Rival

**Chapter 4: Vortex's Rival**

After the training episode with Terrador, Vortex stretched his worn muscles as he left the room. His stomach rumbled, signaling that it was lunchtime. Shrugging, the electricity dragon headed towards the mess hall... except he didn't know where it was. Typical of the scatterbrained indigo dragon. Luckily, he bumped again into the purple hero Spyro, who happily gave him the directions.

After he slung a tray off and filled it with delicious food, he was just starting to sit down he saw her... the beautiful opaque dragoness... sitting alone at a table, her snout buried into a thick book. Vortex started to blush again. Even watching her doing something as simple as reading was causing his heartbeat to double. Cynder looked up from her book to see Vortex staring at her, and motioned with her paw to come sit with her.

Heart beating tenfold, the electricity dragon wobbled over to her and slid into the seat beside her, a faint blush spread across his face. The opaque dragoness noticed this, but decided not to ask as to be rude. "Hi Vortex, how was your day?" she asked with a smile. "It... It.. was fine..." Vortex responded, a stupid lopsided grin spreading across his face from being so close to the dragoness of his dreams.

"Oh, glad to see." Cynder replied. There was a brief moment of awkward silence between the two young dragons as each struggled to find something to say. Finally Vortex broke the silence by saying "So... do you have any love interests?" Cynder instantly blushed, shocked at hearing this sudden, strange question.

"No... except... for... Spyro..." She responded. Vortex's blush faded away, and his heart clenched painfully. The dragoness he loved... in love with another dragon?! This cannot be! "You... like... Spyro?..." he asked softly, feeling as if though his heart was being crushed within a giant fist. Cynder nodded, before cocking her head and staring at Vortex.

The electricity dragon looked pained, as if though he had just bitten into a sour lemon and only noticed the flavor then. "Vortex, whats wrong?" She asked softly. The indigo dragon looked up into her glimmering emerald eyes, and for some reason, he could not stay angry at all. All the rage broiling within him at Spyro had vanished, to be replaced by a dull emptiness.

"Nothing..." he whispered, before slowly starting to eat. Cynder shook her head, convinced that there was something wrong with him, but purused the topic no further. They then ate in relative silence for the rest of the hour. After the meal, Cynder waved goodbye to Vortex, who sullenly went back to his room.

Unfortunately, Spyro chose that precise moment to ask Vortex what was wrong. Before he could react, he was pinned to the wall by Vortex, who was by now throughly enraged. His normally calm and collected golden eyes blazed with barely held in fury as he snarled at Spyro.

"YOU STOLE THE DRAGONESS OF MY DREAMS!"

**Yays. Another cliffhanger.**


End file.
